


Ripples

by TataniSky



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, M/M, Named Reader, Not Beta Read, Other, Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader-Insert, Slow Updates, The War of Monsters and Humans, magical reader, messing with the timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:07:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25774873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TataniSky/pseuds/TataniSky
Summary: I'll eventually update my other fic. I've recently gone through a breakup and had to move out of my boyfriend's place. Felt sad, but now I'm riding this wave of creativity. Let's see how long it'll last. It's the same character insert from Let your Colors Shine, but a different pairing and an alternate reality.
Relationships: W. D. Gaster/Original Female Character(s), W. D. Gaster/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	1. Then

**Author's Note:**

> I'll eventually update my other fic. I've recently gone through a breakup and had to move out of my boyfriend's place. Felt sad, but now I'm riding this wave of creativity. Let's see how long it'll last. It's the same character insert from Let your Colors Shine, but a different pairing and an alternate reality.

You tapped the blunt edges of your nails against the polished stone table, idly chewing the bit of morsel in your mouth and observing the only other person in the room. It was an unconscionable time of night and yet the good doctor was here, squirreled away in his laboratory, eyes glued to the lens of a microscope. You’d entered maybe fifteen minutes ago and had taken a seat on a stool across the bench; you knew he hadn’t noticed your presence, not with his penchant to become completely absorbed in his work. So much so, that the world around him disappeared. 

The corner of your mouth quirked up in a half-smirk as he murmured unintelligibly to himself, an extra pair of conjured hands taking notes off to the side. Finally, he straightened up when his groping hand couldn’t find what it was searching for. The soft fairylights of his eyes were unfocused and it took a good few seconds before he realized he wasn’t alone. It was only because you’d known the doctor for so long that you were able to recognize his surprise - to anyone else, his expression remained as aloof and austere as always. 

Your smirk morphed into a cheeky smile and you twiddle your fingers at him in a jaunty wave, “Welcome back to the world of the living, Doctor G.” 

“Ah,” he replied, caught up in a slow moment; infinitesimally his perfect posture relaxed just a hair, eyelights sharpening and dilating just slightly - his metaphorical blood pressure normalizing after the fright of seeing someone there with him. The edges of his mouth tightened, and though he didn’t fluster (the man was impossible to make blush! you’ve only succeeded once or twice), you knew he was feeling embarrassed.

“You haven’t eaten, have you?” you continue, plucking a cookie from the box you’d been munching from and leaning over the table to boldly present it to his mouth. He gave you a disapproving look as you, once again, ignored the golden rule of all laboratories - no eating whilst doing science.

You merely waggled your eyebrows at him and he conceded with a sigh, opening his mouth as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be hand-fed by a colleague. Considering the colleague was you and that this wasn’t the first time you’d done such a thing, he knew better than to fight. Your stubbornness was legendary. Triumphant, you sat back in your seat, licking crumbs from your fingers and plucking another treat for yourself. 

“You’ve returned sooner than expected,” he finally commented after finishing the cookie, turning to continue with his task. He crossed over to another counter, picking up a beaker and swirling its contents - satisfied with the color, he sucked some into a pipette and carefully added it to the slide he’d been observing so intently. 

“I don’t know why you insist on ruining your eyesight squinting into a lens all day; just use the computer!” you commented, though you knew he was somewhat old-fashioned in this regard. 

He peered at you and it was only your years of friendship that allowed you the privilege of seeing him raise a brow at you. You squint your eyes at him in a smile, unperturbed.

“I was summoned,” you finally deign to answer his question, the tight, uneasy feeling in your chest that you’d been trying to ignore all day wriggling back to life when you noticed how your old friend paused.

The doctor did nonchalant very well - he adjusted the dials on the scope and bent his tall frame so he could peer back through the lens, his voice carefully neutral, “At what time?”

You glanced at the wall clock, suddenly feeling exhausted; it was a few hours until dawn. You’d travelled nonstop for almost two weeks in order to make this meeting. The missive you’d received had been very brief for all that it was full of the flowery double-speak that royals liked to use. The language had been pleasant and non-alarming, but even as you read it three times - just to see if you could glean any sort of useful information - a sinking feeling had settled in your belly.

“Four hours,” you replied with a sigh.

He hummed in acknowledgement and silence fell over you again. Uneasy, you began tapping your fingers against the worktop again, jiggling your foot. The doctor had the King’s ear, having been the Royal Scientist for almost a century now, you knew it was unlikely he’d tell you anything, but you tried anyway.

“Gaster, I…” you shut your mouth when the quiet tread of footsteps approached from the hall, then rounded into the room.

Gaster’s eldest son paused when he took in the scene before him, both his brows rising, his easy smile growing just a bit. 

“Yo,” he greeted you, “you’re back?” 

The question of ‘why?’ was implicit, though he seemed happy enough to see you. You were distracted from your worries for the moment, face brightening at the sight of him.

“Holy shit, Sans,” you smiled even as Gaster made a disapproving noise at your language. You slid off the stool approaching the skeleton monster, wrapping him up in a firm hug. He was shorter than you, so his face mushed right into your bosom, but you hardly cared. 

“Look at you in that lab coat!” you gushed, thinking that he was born to wear the white symbol of science. Sans’ cheekbones were flushed blue when you finally let him go, but his smile was just as excited as yours, his eyes bright, expression both bashful and proud.

“Gaster, you old dog, you finally let your son apprentice!” you glanced back at your friend, who looked a little disgruntled at being called old, his mouth fighting between softening into a rare smile or straightening with displeasure.

“His exam results were adequate,” he replied daintily, then proceeded to ignore the both of you. You rolled your eyes at his behavior, knowing that he was immensely proud of his son’s achievements; he was just too much of an awkward turtle to show it forthrightly. 

You turned back to Sans and shared a wry smile with him. “Awww, Sansy~... we should go out to celebrate later.” 

As you led him deeper into the lab, you were momentarily able to put away your worries, though by no means would they lie dormant forever. In just four short hours, everything would change.


	2. Now

You rolled over onto your side, liquid boiling up out of your chest and throat, your entire body heaving as you struggled to vomit and breathe at the same time. It was so violent that, for a crazed moment, you wondered if you’d cough up your lungs. Whatever you were expelling was black and sludgy, wobbled like liquid mercury and began to fizzle away even as you watched it.

It took only seconds, but you felt every agonizing moment of it; breathless and dizzy, you stared unseeingly at the dirt beneath you. Your brain was completely fried, thoughts whirring chaotically, too disordered to grab hold of. Something brightly colored whizzed by overhead, impacting with the ground only feet in front of you and exploding with the force of a bomb.

You were up on your feet in a heartbeat, vision blurring and clouding over with dark spots, but adrenaline kept you from fainting even as your heart hammered against your ribs. You forced your eyes to focus, ears ringing from the volume of the explosion. Many more similar blasts went off all around you; you spun on your toes, trying to take in everything all at once. There was too much going on, too many questions that you didn’t have the wits to put words to.

 _Danger!Danger!Danger!_ Was all your lizard brain could manage.

Shouting drew your scattered attention. Your eyes felt like they were rolling in your head, so you dug your nails into the flesh of your palms until they bled. The pain was barely noticeable amongst all your other aches and bruises, but it helped.  
Your mind cleared enough just in time to see the glinting tip of a spearhead slide neatly into the space between a Monster’s shoulders. From your angle, you could just make out the expression of fear and despair on their face, their arms desperately clutching a tiny body to their chest.

“R-run!” they managed to gasp out, trying to turn the child around and coax him to flee. The child was bawling, however. Too terrified to heed the command. The adult monster dropped to their knees, already beginning to Dust. Behind them was --

You felt a tremor pass through you and staggered forward a step. The thing behind the slain monster was grim-faced, eyes like chips of cold obsidian, blood and Dust clinging to its skin like a macabre painting. It didn’t have to pull the spear free, because the monster turned to Dust around the point, their remains showering the quaking, crying child. The spear came up again to finish the job.

The creature in the shape of a man paused when he saw you approach, though his expression remained unchanged. The man spoke; you couldn’t understand what he was saying. He showed you no hostility though and you could infer from his body language that he was saying something about the child.

He raised the weapon again, but would never get to follow through.

Another scream became part of the soundtrack of death and destruction around you; going unnoticed and uncared for. You stared dispassionately at what used to be man-shaped vermin, now more reminiscent of a puddle of bones, skin, and blood. The child only whimpered when you picked him up, too shell-shocked to struggle or resist. You cradled him to your bosom, shushing him gently as he cried and trembled, tenderly using your fingers to wipe the Dust of his parent off his face.

To the pile of Dust gathered at your feet, you solemnly tilted your head and intoned a customary good-bye to the fallen, “May the River take and guide you.”

You didn’t know where you were, so you made your best-educated guess and began walking. Hoping you were headed to the Monster encampment, you did your best to help out where you could while protecting yourself and the child. With how exhausted you were, it was difficult; only your iron willpower kept you going at this point.

You weren’t sure how long you’d walked, but eventually, you were approached and surrounded by armored and weaponed Monsters.

“Unhand the child,” a particularly tall and broad Monster stepped forward. He was wearing heavy armor, though his head was uncovered and revealed him to be a lion; in his hand, he was wielding a curved saber. His voice was a low growl and while you couldn’t understand what he was saying, you naturally got the gist of it.  
The child was reluctant to release his grip on your shirt, his eyes watering with dismay. Ripped from his parent and then from his savior, he was understandably confused and traumatized. He began to cry again, his whimpering low and tired. You glanced at the lion warrior and tilted your head questioningly. The lion’s tail flicked behind him with some agitation, but his natural compassionate nature made him sympathize with the child.

He gestured to one of the other soldiers, narrowing his yellow eyes at you as if daring you to try anything. A soldier wearing leathers instead of plate quickly moved towards you - a fox Monster, you think. You don’t make things difficult and hand the child over, much to the fox’s visible relief. Once the fox had escaped with the child, someone came up from behind you and pushed in the back of your knee. You crumpled down into a kneel, feeling the energy quickly leaving you.

The lion was saying something, but your ears were starting to ring again, head feeling fuzzy.

“Doctor,” you said and if you were clear-headed you would have noticed how the small group surrounding you tensed. The lion’s eyes gleamed, the black line of his lip curled back to reveal sharp teeth.

“What did you say?” he asked, disbelief coming out as anger.

You blinked at him slowly, just barely realizing that you could understand him now. “The child,” you tried again, “he needs a doctor.”

“Commander...” the soldier closest to the lion whispered, her eyes wide as they stared at you. The lion curled and uncurled his clawed fingers around the hilt of his blade, a low rumble building in his throat as he thought about what to do.

“Bring her to the Captain,” he finally decided.

You were helped back onto your feet; the female soldier gripped your bicep, her hands firm but not cruel. You stumbled a bit as you were led forward, but didn’t resist. Their camp wasn’t too far away, which was good because you were losing feeling in your legs. Whispers broke out as you were marched through, and many sets of eyes stared at you with open curiosity and caution.

You were brought into a large tent and pushed down onto a chair. The female soldier hesitated a moment, before dutifully securing and binding your arms behind you, attached to the chair. Then she left the tent. You weren’t alone for long when the lion stepped inside, followed by a grizzled-looking tortoise monster.

You assumed the tortoise was the Captain of this camp. The Monster looked you over, his face was stony and unreadable. At length, he spoke a single word to you, but you only stared at him blankly. He cocked his head to the side and tried again, “Speak.”

You understood that. “The child’s parent was killed,” you informed him and the warrior stills, sharing a quick glance with the lion who had an “I told you so” expression.

The Captain clicked his tongue and reached up to rub his chin, scratching at his beard. His eyes narrowed, “... and the person responsible?”

Remembering the scene from earlier reignited the icy, liquid rage in your belly. You met the Captain’s eyes and saw the surprise there, the caution. You barely refrained from curling your lips over your teeth in a snarl, fingers flexing where they were bound behind you.

“Dead,” you promised him.

The tortoise regarded you a moment longer, before nodding once in acceptance. “You’re a mage,” he continued, “but you’re not one of our known allies. Who are you?”

You faltered at the unfamiliar word, faculties slowing down. The adrenaline had long since left you and you’ve been running on fumes. You struggled to keep your concentration; you weren’t sure what the situation was, but obviously these Monsters were at war. Even if Monsters were generally compassionate and benevolent, passing out would still be a bad idea when you weren't sure of your safety.

“Mage?” you repeated dumbly and the lion snorted, displeased, behind the Captain. He probably thought you were playing dumb.

“You use magic, don’t cha? I can feel it in you,” the Captain elaborated, his tone deceptively open and friendly even as his shrewd eyes picked you apart.

“Yes,” you replied automatically and suddenly felt like you were forgetting something important. You shook your head to clear the encroaching fog; the Captain noticed your struggle and frowned. 

“Are you wounded?” he queried, looking you over more closely.

“Captain…” you called, vaguely hearing him respond with ‘Gerson’ - “Captain Gerson… am I… is this a dream?”

“Ha! This would be a pretty lousy dream, kid,” he answered with a dry chuckle.

“Oh,” is all you managed to say before the tingling in your legs spread to the rest of your body; suddenly, it was like you’d been encased in ice. You gasped, chest tight, breathing becoming a monumental effort. Then you’re choking and shaking hard enough to rattle the chair you’re in.

Vaguely you heard someone shout for a medic - were you having a seizure? - but then your eyes rolled back and you knew no more.


End file.
